The critical care unit is anyone’s nightmare, and everyone wants to avoid it at all costs. People with severe illnesses and injuries are admitted to an ICU for medical care. Patients are tied up to machines and monitors, with regular tests being taken to provide specialized treatment. Healthcare providers critically look at the patient’s progress to devise a recovery plan.
If you want to avoid an ICU at all costs, you must understand all the illnesses and injuries that can take you there. A list of them is discussed below in detail:
- Brain Injury:
A brain injury can cause brief or everlasting damage to the brain tissues and hamper brain functions. It is usually caused by a hard hit to the head, typically by a fall or accident, which ultimately leads to bleeding within the brain or swelling of brain tissues.
The greater the severity of the blow to the head, the greater the impact on the brain. Any resulting brain injury may lead to anything from a concussion to a coma. The treatment for a traumatic brain injury requires temporary or permanent support to body systems. Healthcare professionals must provide this support and keep them under constant vigilance.
Patients who need critical care are so incapacitated that they cannot do anything for themselves. Hence, nurses must look after them with greater sensitivity. Nurses need to tend to these patients 24/7. ICUs are constantly monitored and supervised by nursing leaders to keep the intensive care unit performing at the highest capacity with alertness and attention to detail, especially when dealing with patients suffering from a brain injury.
- Sepsis:
Sepsis usually begins with an extensive infection within the body that grows to a life-threatening degree and can prove fatal if not treated immediately. During sepsis, our body’s immune system reacts to the infection, and it can be deadly as it can lead to widespread inflammation in the body. This inflammation can also cause organ damage and ultimately leads to organ failure.
The reason behind certain people being highly vulnerable to sepsis while being able to fight back relatively tougher problems is still a mystery that researchers are working on. Vulnerable people must ensure that they prevent any infection from occurring, and if it does, they treat it immediately and aggressively. The Surviving Sepsis Campaign works to improve outcomes in patients suffering from sepsis.
- Stroke:
An aneurysm causes a stroke. An aneurysm is caused by the ballooning or deterioration of the walls of a blood vessel in the brain. When this blood vessel bursts, it causes bleeding within the brain and leads to hemorrhage. This internal bleeding can prove fatal, and patients are placed in intensive or critical care after an aneurysm.
Some people have aneurysms since birth, and they weaken as they age. This weakness can lead to the bursting of vessels and cause a stroke. An aneurysm can be diagnosed via a CT scan. Healthcare providers focus on the cause of the aneurysm and repairing ruptured blood vessels.
Treatment involves controlling the blood pressure of the patient and moderating stress if a blood vessel bursts again. Even after countermeasures, the focus shifts to preventing any more bleeding.
- Post-Operative Intensive Care:
Some patients are placed in the ICU after having undergone surgery. While this is true for most major surgeries, the incidence varies when it comes to minor surgeries. Patients are usually placed in an ICU because they are in a severe condition and need extra observation from the medical team.
Some patients who undergo minor surgeries might end up in an ICU because of a risky complication during the surgery. Hence, healthcare providers place them under critical observation to observe their progress and response to certain treatments.
Treatment options are usually dependent on the context and severity of the patient’s condition. Patients who have a more critical condition are typically placed in an ICU longer than those who are steadily recovering.
- Cancer Intensive Care:
Cancer is one of the most common diseases in the world today. If not managed and treated properly, it can be fatal for the patient. A patient who has cancer might be admitted to the ICU because of the severity of his condition.
Cancer patients go through rigorous chemotherapy and radiotherapy, among other treatment options. Sometimes these treatments can affect other bodily functions and even backfire if not administrated properly.
Cancer patients undergo major surgeries like a bone marrow transplant or surgical removal of organs to limit cancerous growth in the body. Such major surgeries might cause them to catch infections and as they are immune-compromised. Even a small infection can prove fatal. Moreover, they have very low levels of platelets and very thin consistency of blood. Hence, they might even bleed excessively from minor cuts and bruises.
Treatment plans for people placed in the ICU depend on a thorough diagnosis. They are often given strong antibiotics and blood transfusions to recover steadily.
- Heart Failure:
According to the CDC, heart failure is one of the leading causes of mortality in the United States. A heart failure is not a death sentence on its own. However, if not treated immediately and properly, it might as well be.
There are several reasons why a patient suffering from a heart condition might need to be admitted to an ICU. Sometimes, the severity of a patient’s condition might escalate to such heights that they might be admitted to a CCU or CSICU.
Heart failure is caused by the inability of heart muscles to pump blood throughout the body. This inability to pump blood might lead to organ failure and sometimes even death.
The treatment for a patient who has undergone heart failure is contingent on the cause and diagnosis of the disease. The most common modes of treatment are surgery to remove blockages in the arteries and placements of stunts. After angioplasty or open-heart surgery, they are given medication that they might have to take for the rest of their lives.
Bottom Line:
Many injuries and illnesses that might place you in an ICU are controllable. For those unfortunate enough to be sent to an ICU, willpower and positivity can help them recover quickly. A consistent and conscious effort with a professional healthcare provider’s guidance can bring a patient back to normal life.